Online again, green again!
Communities keep on keeping on
January 24, 2006Demand for healthier meat leads to increased export opportunities
February 4, 2006Green + green = an easier conscience
It’s good to be back online. We are in the Kinglake fire region and though we had power, we were offline most of the day. It was chilling to hear the wail of a fire truck yesterday afternoon and to see it racing along the next ridge… and it does seem odd to be writing about anything green in the midst of so much ‘black’ here in Victoria, but this is interesting stuff.
After talking about Green Power I read that transport is Australia’s fastest growing source of greenhouse emissions. I am also told that for $40 pa Greenfleet – a ‘not for profit’ – plants 17 mixed species natives that not only absorb an average car’s CO2 emissions but tackle salinity, improve water quality and provide habitats for native species.
Greenfleet, based in South Gippsland, Victoria, operates a tax-deductible fund ‘The Greenfleet Trust’. They ask you to calculate your emissions, sign up your car and tell others about the project. It seems that by buying Green Power and signing up with Greenfleet, without living remarkably differently, you can still reduce your personal CO2 emissions by about 50%.
How do you measure your emissions, or, your eco-footprint? The Global Footprint Network has a quiz that shows how much land and water we need to produce all the resources we consume and to absorb our waste.
According to the EPA in Victoria, in 2004 Australia had the fourth largest footprint in the world and Victorians use more natural resources than any other state in Australia – our brown coal dependency? I found it very interesting and a bit daunting to measure my footprint – how would you shape up? You may care to post YOUR score for the Global Footprint quiz?
Have you come across the book – ‘We are what we do – Change the world for ten bucks‘ ? If you have, has it affected your activities? Love to hear!
